Faircloth & Supply’s Summer 2015 Line Offers Breezy Minimalism

Phoebe Dahl was safely ensconced in Los Angeles when the second of two powerful earthquakes struck an already ravaged Nepal, but that didn't make the disaster any less personal. As the founder of Faircloth & Supply, an American-manufactured fashion label that benefits girls' education in the developing South Asian country, Dahl found herself caught between despair and hope. “The earthquake in Nepal destroyed 15 of the schools we support and destroyed the homes of 50 girls we’ve sponsored," she told Ecouterre."It’s incredibly unfortunate, but we remain focused on our goal of girls education and have devised an earthquake relief initiative that will funnel money directly where it’s needed on the ground in Nepal through General Welfare Pratisthan."

FASHIONING HOPE

Dahl has worked with General Welfare Pratisthan—or GWP, for short—since she founded Faircloth & Supply in 2013. The social-welfare nonprofit works at a grassroots level in Nepal to disburse the uniforms, school supplies, and scholarships that every garment purchase contributes.

Uniforms are a form of armor, Dahl said, because sex traffickers tend not to target girls who possess the “strong will and confidence” that comes from an education.

In a scant two years, Faircloth & Supply has already left an imprint, helping 2,000 Nepali girls enter the school system. Recent events, however, have reshuffled some of its priorities.

Together with Go Campaign, another Nepal-based organization, Faircloth & Supply hopes to raise $150,000 to rebuild the aforementioned 15 schools and 50 homes.

The breezy effortlessness of the brand’s Summer 2015 collection belies this substantive task. A remix of Faircloth & Supply’s signature organic linen, the line features jumpsuits, shorts, and lightweight frocks in pale washes of grays, blues, and pinks.

Each piece can be worn in multiple ways, thanks to the incorporation of ties and drawstrings. This, according to Dahl, introduces “yet another layer of sustainability,” one that will “continue to be integrated in future collections.”